Helicopter type airship



1942- G. R. WALDRON HELICOPTER TYPE AIRSHIP Filed Nov. 28, 1939 4Sheets-Sheet 1 1942- G. R. WALDRON 2,273,303

HELICOPTER TYPE AIRSHIP Filed Nov. 28, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 17,1942. G. R. WALDRON 2,273,303

HELICOPTER TYPE AIRSHIP Filed Nov. 28, 1939 4 Shets-Sheet 3 Feb. 1'7,9412. G. R. WALDRON HELICOPTER TYPE AIRSHIP Filed. Nov. 28, 1939 4Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Feb. 17, 1942 HELICOPTER TYPE AIRSHIP George R.

one-half mosa Beach, Calif.

Waldron, Tujunga, CaliL, assignor of to Francoise J. D Bouchelle, Her-Application November 28, 1939, Serial No. 306,563

12 Claims.

This invention relates generally to the class of air-vehicles or flyingmachines and pertains particularly to a novel and improved form ofhelicopter.

The primary object of the'present invention is to provide in ahelicopter type of flying machine, a new and novel method and means ofcontrolling the movements of such machine by means of the rotating bladefor raising the machine into the air.

, Another object of the invention is to provide in a helicopter type offlying machine, a new and novel blade construction for the rotaryoperating units together with a novel mounting means for such unitswhereby the vertical and forward movement of the machine in the air maybe readily accomplished.

Still another object of the invention is to provide in a helicopter typeof flying machine, rotary blade units in which the blades are of novelform and mounted so that the angle of attack may be varied and, inaddition, wherein such units are disposed in a novel manner with respectto the longitudinal center of the ship, the said means for adjusting thepitch of the blades together with the novel form of the blades and themanner in which the units are mounted with respect to the longitudinalcenter of the ship, facilitating movement of the ship in the airvertically, forwardly or laterally as may be desired without theemployment of steering mechanism of any character.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a helicopter typeflying machine, a pair of rotary blade units arranged in fore and aftrelation upon the fuselage of the ship, the units being supported forrotation in planes at an angle to the longitudinal center of the shipand the rear one of such units being adapted for limited swingingmovement transversely of the ship, the arrangement of the rotary unitsin the said angular planes together with the lateral movement of the aftunit facilitating the movement of the ship and the steering of the same.

A still further object of the invention is to provide in a helicoptertype flying machine, rotary lifting units employing blades having thecross sectional design of an airfoil, such blades being hereinafterreferred to as airfoil blades, by

means of which blades, mounted in a novel manr ner upon the body of theship, the combined forward and upward movement of the ship together withother desired movements resulting from the adjustment of the pitch ofthe blades, are accomplished.

Still another object of the invention is to prounits which are employedvide in a helicopter type airship employing two rotary blade unitsvarranged in the manner stated, a novel means whereby one of suchbladeunits may; be oscillated along an arcuate path extendingtransversely of the fuselage for the purpose of steering the ship.

A still further object of the invention is to provide in a structure ofthe character stated, a novel mounting for-the airfoil blades wherebythe pitch of such blades may be changed or controlled by the operator ofthe machine to facilitate movement of the machin through the air at adesired rate of speed. i

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of thefollowing detailed descrip tion taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings forming part of this specification, with theunderstanding, however, that the invention is not to be confined to anystrict conformity with the showing of the drawings but may be changed ormodified so long as such changes or modifications mark no materialdeparture from the salient features of the invention as expressed in theappended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a helicopter constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in top plan of the same.

Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation.

Fig. 4 is a view in plan of a blade of a rotor unit.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the theory of operation ofthe present device.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are diagrammatic views illustrating the method ofcontrol of the present helicopter.

Fig. 10 is a view in side elevation of the operating mechanism per se.

Fig. 11 is a view in vertical longitudinal section through the rear unitof the operating mechanism, the same being partially broken away andillustrating the clutch control means.

Fig. 12 is a view in vertical longitudinal section through the lowerpart of the front unit of the mechanism.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary view in plan of one of the rotor unit headsshowing the connections of the blades therewith.

Fig. 14 is a view in elevation of the control means for shifting therear rotor unit, the view being taken looking longitudinally of theaircraft.

Fig. 15 is a horizontal section on the line l5-I5 of Fig. 14.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, reference will first bemade to and a description given of the parts of the present invention asthey appear in viewing the airship exteriorly. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3where the body of the airship is more or less diagrammatically shown,the ship body or fuselage is indicated by the numeral I, it havingconnected with its underside suitable landing gear the form of wheels 2and 3, the forward one of the wheels which is indicated by the numeral3, being preferably mounted upon the longitudinal center of the ship andcontrollable to operate as a castor wheel whereby the steering of theship when on the ground may be accomplished. No detailed illustration isgiven of the interior parts of the ship or of the landing gear as thesedo not form a part of the present invention.

Supported above the fuselage I in the manner hereinafter specificallydescribed are the two rotary blade units which are spaced longitudinallyof the ship, the forward unit being indicated generally by the numeral 4and the rear unit by the numeral 5. The upper parts of the supportingstructure for these units are enclosed by the streamlined housings 6 and1 as shown.

The blades for the rotary units are indicated by the numeral 8 and eachof these blades is of the airfoil-type as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, andthe units 4 and are supported by the fuselage of the ship to rotate onaxes which are inclined from the perpendicular slightly toward theforward end of the ship and in the vertical central longitudinal planeof the ship. The blades 8 of both units are adjustable for pitch ashereinafter described and the rear unit which may be referred to as thesteering or control unit, is also movable or adjustable transversely ofthe ship, as will be hereinafter more specifically described.

The units 4 and 5 rotate oppositely as indicated in Fig. 2, the forwardunit 4 rotating in a counter-clockwise direction as seen when lookingdown upon the ship and the rear unit rotating in a clockwise direction.In both units, the blades are supported so that the blunt or usualleading edge is facing in the direction in which the propeller ismoving.

Before describing the detailed constructional features of the presentinvention, a short statement of the principle of operation of thepresent machine will be set forth, reference being had particularly tothe diagrams constituting Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive.

Referring particularly to Fig. 6, when a multiblade controllable pitchrotor is positioned with the axis of the rotor slightly out of thevertical as shown in Fig. 6, the plane of rotation of the blades asindicated at 9, is oblique to the horizontal which is designated by theline I. In this diagrammatic view the numeral l l designates the shafthousing which encloses the operative driving connection between theblade units 4 and 5, and the numerals l2 and I3 designate the shafthousings enclosing the shafts which carry power to the units. With thisarrangement of the blade units when the blades of each unit are set tohave a zero degree angle of attack or incidence with reference to thehorizontal line I0, when such blades are midway between their highestand lowest positions in the rotary plane, the blades upon one side ofsuch midway position assume a greater angle of attack than those uponthe other side of such position. By this it is meant that the bladesthrough half of their rotary movement will be moving downwardly withrespect to the horizontal and through the other half of their rotarymovement they will be moving upwardly during which latter movement theangle of attack will be greater than during the first-mentionedmovement. As the direction of rotation is such as to cause the blades tomove through the air in a normal airfoil movement, the blades having thezero angle of attack or the blades which are moving downwardly withrespect to the horizontal, have small resistance to movement through theair while affording the lift resulting from the reaction of the bladeson the air. However, the opposite blades having a greater angle, exert athrust or pushing force tending to move the rotor in a horizontaldirection while at the same time giving a lift.

By the use of two rotors, in combination with a fuselage in an air craftand disposing the rotor axes on the fore and aft line of the air craftand turning the rotors in opposite directions, the forces of torque arebalanced and the center of gravity, longitudinally, being below and on aline with the centers of the rotors results in the transverse balancingof the air craft.

The longitudinal balance of the craft is at all times under the controlof the pilot by reason of the control of the lift of the individualrotors through the adjustment of the pitch of the blades. Suchlongitudinal balance or control of the craft may be described in thefollowing manner in conjunction with the diagrammatic Figs. 7 to 9.

Assuming that a fuselage is combined with the rigidly connected rotorassemblies, by increasing the pitch of the blades of the forward rotor4, Fig. 7, to cause the forward rotor to rise to a position which placesthe planes of the two rotors in a horizontal position or parallel withthe horizontal line ID, the air craft because of the lift of the tworotors and due to the lack of thrust in either direction horizontally,will remain poised in position with no horizontal movement. In thisposition the center line of the fuselage, indicated by the numeral l4,has an angle to the horizontal ground line ID. If the pitch of thepropellers of the two rotors then be increased an equal amount, the aircraft will rise, the condition of descending being brought about bydecreasing the angle of attack of the blades of the two rotors an equalamount until the weight of the air craft exceeds the lift of the rotors.

By increasing the lift of the rear rotor 5, Fig. 8, and raising the rearof the air craft so that the planes of the rotors extend forwardly anddownwardly with respect to the horizontal line H), the blades take theposition of thrust on the rearwardly moving blades and low resistance topassage through the air on the forwardly moving sides of the blades andthe air craft will move in the direction shown by the arrows IS in thisfigure.

In order to move the craft in the opposite direction as indicated by thearrow IS in Fig. 9, the lift of the blades of the forward rotor 4 isincreased until the planes of the two rotors extend downwardly andrearwardly to the horizontal line 10 in the manner illustrated.

In the event of failure of the power plant of the air craft, theconnection between the power plant and the rotors may be disengaged bythe clutch mechanism to be described and the angle of incidence of theblades of both rotors decreased to below zero or to minus degrees angleof incidence, thus the air flowing past the blades as the aircraftdescends will tend to slow the aircraft in its descent and will causethe rotors to rotate and this rotary action of the rotors may beutilized for effecting landing of the craft without shock or damage, byincreasing the pitch of the rotor blades just before the craft reachesthe ground.

The mechanism of the present invention will now be described.

In Figs. 10 and 11, the numeral ll designates a portion of the fuselageupon which the driving connections for the rotors 4 and 5 together withother parts of the mechanism are supported. As previously stated, therotor 5 is rearwardly of the rotor 4 and the planes of rotation of therotors are one above the other, the forward rotor 4 being in the lowerplane.

The numeral I8 designates a clutch housing into which extends the driveshaft section I! having upon its'rear end a suitable coupling 20 forconnecting it with an engine (not shown) by which rotary power istransmitted to the rotors. This clutch housing encloses suitable clutchmechanism generally indicated by the numeral 2| for transmitting powerfrom the shaft section I9 to the power shaft 22 which extends forwardlythrough the horizontal shaft housing H to the forward rotor.

The vertical housing |3 for the rear rotor joins at its lower end with agear casing 23 and this gear casing has connected therewith stub housings 24, one of which is coupled with the rear end of the housing II bya coupling sleeve 25 while the other stub housing is coupled by acorresponding coupling sleeve 26 with the clutch housing H3 in themanner illustrated These coupling sleeves 25 and 26 are maintained inplace upon the adjacent ends of the housings by rings 21 which are fixedto the shaft housings in the manner illustrated. 'Within the housings Hand 24 are suitable bearings 28 disposed upon opposite sides of thejoint between the housing sections, for the support of the power shaft22.

The clutch housing H3 is supported by a suitable base 29 upon theportion ll of the fuselage or body and at the front and rear of the gearhousing 23 is a combined supporting standard and bearing 30 throughwhich a stub housing 24 passes. This combined bearing and standardperforms the double function of supporting the gear housing 23 togetherwith the vertical shaft housing |3 and the rotor unit upon its upperend, and permitting this entire structure to be oscillated transverselyof the craft as hereinafter stated.

The clutch mechanism 2| is controlled by a suitable lever 3| which isactuated by a rod or shaft 32 extending forwardly therefrom to the partof the aircraft structure in which the operator or pilot is positioned.

As previously stated, the rear unit-5 constitutes the steering controlfor the craft for which reason this unit has been mounted, so' that itmay be transversely oscillated as stated. The upper end of the housingI3 is enclosed in a collar 33 which is slidably supported in anelongated rectangular frame 34 which is disposed so that its lengthextends transversely of the craft and is housed within the upper part ofthe housing I and supported therein by suitable standards 35. The frame34 includes in its make-up the vertically spaced parallel longitudinalguides 36 upon each of its sides and between these guides the collar 33for the shaft housing I3 is supported for movement. This collar upon oneside has connected therewith a link 31 which is joined to one end of alever 38 which is carried upon the upper end ofa vertical rod 38, thelower end of this rod having a lever 48 connected therewith to which isattached one end of an actuating rod 4| which extends forwardly to thepilot's seat so that the pilot by manipulating the control 4| may effectsliding movement of the collar 33 and oscillation of the shaft housingl3.

Within the gear housing 23 at the lower end of the vertical shafthousing I3 the power shaft 22 supports a spur gear 42 which meshes witha bevel gear 43 which is supported upon the lower end of the verticaltubular shaft 44 which extends upwardly through the shaft housing l3.The lower end of this vertical shaft 44 is supported by a suitablebearing 45 at its lower end, as shown, while the upper end of this shaftcarries and has keyed thereto a key spider 46 by means of which thevertical drive shaft 44 is connected with the rotary head 41 of thisrotor unit.

Since the interior construction of each of the rotary units is the same,a detailed description will be given of the construction of one rotaryunit only, it being understood that such description will apply also tothe other unit. However, before proceeding with the description of thedetailed construction of the rear rotary unit 5, a description will begiven of the lower structure of the forward rotary unit 4.

At the lower part of the forward rotary unit 4 is a gear housing 48, thelower part of which is closed by a removable plate 48. This housing 48is provided with suitable ears 50 for facilitating its connection withthe supporting part of the fuselage.

Upon the side of the gear housing 48 nearest the housing 23 for the rearunit gear mechanism, there is provided the bearing 5| through whichextends the forward end of the shaft 22 and within the housing 48 thereis secured to the shaft 22 the forward spur gear 52.

The vertical drive shaft housing |2 for the forward unit encloses atubular vertical shaft 53 upon the lower end of which is secured thebevel gear 54 which meshes with the spur gear 52. This vertical driveshaft 53 is supported like the shaft 44 in a lower or step bearing, notshown, which is of the same character as the bearing 45.

Extending longitudinally through the tubular shaft 53 is a reciprocablerod 55, the lower end of which extends below the gear 54 into the box 48and has coupled therewith through the medium of a suitable collar 56, ayoke 51 which is carried upon a rock shaft 58 which extends into thegear box from one side thereof and this shaft upon its outer end,exteriorly of the gear box, carries an arm 59 with which is connected acontrol rod 60.

The forward motor unit also includes a rotary head 6| which is coupledwith the shaft 53 to be turned thereby through the medium of a spider,not shown, like the spider 46 described in connection with the rotorunit 5.

The tubular shaft 44 of the rotor unit 5 has a reciprocable rod 62extending longitudinally therethrough, the lower end of which projectsdownwardly into the gear box 23 and has connected therewith through themedium of a collar 63, a yoke 64 which is connected with a rock shaft 65which extends to the exterior of the gear housing and carries theupwardly extending crank arm 66 with which is connected an end of acontrol rod 61. This control rod 61 like the rod 60 extend forwardly toa point adjacent the seat of the pilot or operator of the craft where itmay be connected with a suitable control mechanism such as the handlever 88 which is provided with a shiftable securing tooth 88 whichcooperates with a toothed segment 18 to maintain the lever in adjustedposition.

As previously stated, the construction of the upper part of both of therotor units is the same, therefore, a description will now be given ofthe detailed construction of rotor unit 8 with the understanding that,although the detailed constructlon of the interior of the upper part ofrotor unit 4 has not been illustrated, it is exactly the same as that ofunit 5 and, therefore, the present description will apply to unit 4. Thevertical shaft housing l8 has secured thereto adjacent its upper end afixed bearing collar 'll, the upper surface of which is formed toprovide a raceway for anti-friction elements I2. Secured to this housingbeneath the collar H is a separate col- 'lar 13 which is welded to thehousing and constitutes an additional support for the bearing collar II.

On the vertical shaft housing l2 of the rotor unit 4, the correspondingbearing collar is indicated by the numeral 14.

The head 41, and likewise the head 8| of unit 4, has its underfacesuitably formed to coact with the bearing collar II and theanti-friction elements I2 and this head has a longitudinal passage 15leading into a chamber 18, and this chamber H5 in turn opens into anupper chamber 11. The passage 15 receives the upper end of the tubularshaft housing I! and fixed to and encircling the upper part of thishousing and lying within the chamber 18 is a bearing collar 18, theunder face of which coacts with the bottom of the chamber 18 and engagesanti-friction elements 18. A suitable securing nut 88 is threaded uponthe upper end of the shaft nousing l3 and engages the collar 18 tomaintain the latter firmly in position, and this nut 88 and bearingcollar I8 coact with the fixed collar H to rotatably support the hub inposition upon the upper end of the shaft housing. The interior of thevertical shaft housing is reinforced at its upper end by an insertedsleeve or body of tubing 8|.

Between the chambers 18 and 11 the head has the spider 46 coupledtherewith and this spider, as previously stated, is keyed to the upperend of the shaft 44 and is held against longitudinal movement on theshaft by the nut 82 which is threadably secured to the shaft.

The upper part of the head 11 has the annular chamber 83 formed thereinaround the central chamber I1. These chambers are both covered by theremovable cover plate 84.

The reciprocable rod 82 which passes through the tube shaft 44 extendsinto the chamber 11 and carries two disks 85 which are maintained inspaced relation by an inserted washer 88, thus providing a circularchannel 81.

Each of the rotor blades of each unit is, as previously stated, of theairfoil type and each of these blades is provided with a longitudinallyextending central tubular portion 88 across which extend the frameworkribs 88 which carry the covering or skin material 88 which may be ofmetal or other suitable material. This tubular central part or backbonefor each of the propeller blades 8 extends beyond the inner end of theblade to form the blade hub 8|. The inner end portion of the tubularpart 88 of each blade is reinforced by an inserted sleeve 82 and securedaavaaos within the end of the hub and abutting against the adjacent endof the reinforcing sleeve 82 is an inserted body 88 which i formed atthe outer end to provide an eccentric finger 84.

The end of the hub of each blade has a reduced threaded portion andinwardly fromthis reduced portion a threaded collar 88 encircles theblade hub.

Each rotor head has formed therein a series of radial openings 81 whichextend from the eccentric finger chamber 'i'! to the outer side of thehead through the annular chamber 88. Through these radial passages oropenings 81, the hub ends of the rotor blades are extended and thethreaded portion of the collar 88 of each blade extends into the annularchamber 88 where it receives a securing nut or ring 88 while thethreaded terminal portion 85 Ofthe hub extends into the chamber II whereit receives a threaded nut or ring 88. The portions of each blade hubwhich carry the securing nuts or rings 88-88 pass through bearings I88suitably mounted in the head into which the blade hubs extend and thesecuring rings 88-88 engage these bearings, in addition to serving toprevent the blade from moving radially outwardly from the head, thusmaintaining the adjacent rotary portions of the bearings in position.

When the hub ends of the blades are secured in their respective openings81, the eccentric fingers will be engaged in the annular recess 81 whichis provided between the spaced peripheries of the plates 85. Thus itwill be seen that upon reciprocation of the rod 82 for the unit 5 or therod 55 for the unit 4, pressure will be brought to bear upon theeccentric fingers 84 which will tend to turn the rotor blades on theirlongitudinal axes and by this means, the pitch of the blades or theangle of attack may be altered as desired.

The forward unit 4 has the tubular housing I2 provided adjacent itsupper end with suitable ears or fianges |8I for the attachment theretoof bracing struts I82 by which the forces generated by the rotary actionof the blades are transmitted to the fuselage structure.

It will be noted that the spur gears 42 and 52 in the gear housings ofthe rear and front units respectively, are arranged so that uponrotation of the driving shaft 22, rotary motion will be given to one ofthe vertical shafts oppositely to the vertical shaft of the other unit.

It will also be noted that both vertical drive shafts are inclinedslightly forwardly from the horizontal in the vertical centrallongitudinal plane of the ship and thus by this arrangement inassociation with the means for changing the pitch of the rotor blades,it is possible to control the movements of the ship in the manner statedin the first part of the specification.

It will also be seen from the foregoing description that by theprovision of the stub housings for the horizontal driving shaft 22,connected with the clutch housing andithe main horizontal housin H bythe sleeves 25 and 26, the entire rear unit 5 may be oscillated slightlytransversely of the airship through the medium of the control rod 4|,and in this manner steering movement may be imparted to the shipstructure. By the use of the control rods 68 and 81, rectilinearmovement may be imparted to the reciprocable rods 55 and 82 of the twounits whereby the pitch of the propellers of either or both units may bevaried as may be found desirable or necessary.

An aircraft or airship designed in accordance acre-,aoa

with the present invention may be made to rise or descend verticallywithout moving at all in a horizontal direction or it may be caused toremain at a desiredelevation and in horizontal position in the air. Itis also possible to make a complete turn of this airship in a circlewhose radius is no greater than the length of the ship. Also inaccordance with the description given in the first part of thespecification, it will be apparent that by suitably manipulating therotor units, the ship may be made to move either in a forward orbackward horizontal direction or may be made to move upwardly andforwardly or upwardly and backwardly as may be desired.

While in th present illustration of the invention, there has been showna coupling at the rear of the rear rotor unit for connecting the drivingengine with the rotors, it will be understood that the invention is notto be limited to the connection of the power unit at this point as itmay be advisable in certain types of aircraft to install the drivingmotor between the vertical shafts. It is also to be understood thatwhile there have been shown gear drives between the horizontal powershaft and the vertical shafts, such drives may be 'supplemented by achain drive or by any other suitable driving connection if founddesirable.

In the previously given description, the part I! has been referred to asa portion of the fuselage. This may comprise any suitable frame-work inthe air craft upon which the power units or ro tors may be supported orit may constitute a portion of the bottom Wall of the fuselage, it beingunderstood that in the preferred construction of the helicopter, thehorizontal driving shaft between the vertical shafts and the drivingmotor will be located in the extreme lower part of the fuselage with thevertical shafts extending upwardly through the body on the verticallongitudinal center of the same.

By disposing the rear rotor and blades in a plane above the blades ofthe front rotor, there is avoided interference with the operation of therear rotor in flight by air disturbances created by the front rotor,thus the efficiency of the machine as a whole is improved or increasedover what it would be if the rotors were disposed in the same plane.

What is claimed is:

1. In a helicopter type airship, a fuselage, a

pair of upwardly extending rotatable shafts carried by and projectingabove said fuselage and spaced longitudinally thereof, means forapplying rotary power to said shafts, said shafts being at a fixedinclination from the vertical forwardly with respect to the longitudinalcenter of the fuselage, a rotor unit mounted upon the upper end of eachshaft to be turned thereby and including a plurality of adjustable pitchblades, said shafts being of unequal height to dispose said rotor unitsin vertically spaced parallel Planes.

with the forward unit disposed in a plane below the plane of the rearunit, and means for oscillating the rearward unit transversely of thefuselage.

2. In a helicopter type airship, a fuselage body, a pair of shaftssupported by and extending upwardly from said body, said shafts bein ata fixed inclination slightly from the vertical forwardly with respect tothe longitudinal center of said body and each of said shafts being oftubular form, means for coupling a power unit with said shafts foreffecting simultaneous rotation of the same, a hollow head supportedupon the upper end of each shaft, a plurality of blades carried by andextending radially from each head, said blades being rotatable with thehead in a plane perpendicular to the supporting shafts therefor, areciprocable rod extending longitudinally through each of said shaftsinto the head, means for effecting the rectilinear movement of each rodfrom a point in the fuselage remote from the shafts, and meansoperatively coupling the upper ends of said rods with said blades withinthe hollow heads whereby the pitch of the blades will be changed uponsuch rectilinear movement of the rods.

3. In a helicopter type airship, a fuselage body,

a pair of shafts supported by and extending upwardly from said body,said shafts being inclined slightly from the vertical forwardly withrespect to said body and each of said shafts being of tubular form,means for coupling a power unit with said shafts for effectingsimultaneous rotation of the same, a head supported upon the upper endof each shaft, a plurality of blades carried by and extending radiallyfrom each head, said blades being rotatable with the head in a planeperpendicular to the supporting shafts therefor, a reciprocable rodextending longitudinally through each of said shafts, means foreffecting the rectilinear movement of each rod from a. point in thefuselage remote from the shafts, means operatively coupling the upperends of said rods with said blades whereby the pitch of the blades willbe changed upon movement of the rods, and means facilitating movement ofthe upper end of one of said shafts in an arcuate path extendingtransversely of the fuselage.

4. A helicopter type airship, comprising a fuselage body, a drivingshaft extending longitudinally of the body, means facilitating couplinga power unit with said shaft for turning the latter, a pair of shafthousings extending upwardly with respect to the fuselage and beyond thetop of the same, each of said shaft housings being inclined forwardlyfrom the vertical and said housings being spaced longitudinally of thefuselage, a shaft extending longitudinally through each of saidhousings, an operative coupling between the lower end of each of saidlast shafts and said driving shaft, a unit supported upon the upper endof each of said housings and coupled with the shaft therein for rotationwith the .adjacent shaft, each of said units including a plurality ofadjustable pitch blades, means facilitating the adjustment of the pitchof said blades of "each unit, means supporting the rear one of saidhousings for oscillation transversely of the fuselage about said drivingshaft as a center, and means for effecting the oscillation of said rearshaft housing.

5. A helicopter type airship, comprising a fuselage body, a drivingshaft extending longitudinally of the body, means facilitating couplinga power unit with said shaft for turning the latter, a pair of shafthousings extending upwardly with respect to the fuselage and beyond thetop of the same, each of said shaft housings being inclined forwardlyfrom the vertical and said housings being spaced longitudinally of thefuselage, a shaft extending longitudinally through each of saidhousings, an operative coupling between the lower end of each of saidlast shafts and said driving shaft, a unit supported upon the .upper.end of each of said housings and coupled with the shaft therein forrotation with the adjacent shaft, each of said units including aplurality of adjustable pitch blades, means faciliof each unit, meanssupporting the rear one of said housings for oscillation transversely ofthe fuselage about said driving shaft as a center, and means foreffecting the oscillation of said rear shaft housing, the said bladeunits being arranged to rotate in planes perpendicular to the axes ofthe shafts with which they are coupled and the forward one of said unitsbeing disposed in a plane below the plane of the rear unit.

6. In a helicopter type airship, a fuselage body, a pair of tubularshaft housings extending upwardly with respect to the fuselage body andspaced apart longitudinally of the body, said housings being inclinedslightly forwardly from the vertical with respect to the longitudinalcenter of the body, means supporting the rear housing at its lower endfor oscillation inan arcuate path extending transversely of the body,

'a shaft extending longitudinally through each of said housings androtatably supported in the same, means coupled with said shafts fortransmitting rotary power thereto from a power source, meansfacilitating the coupling of a power source with said power transmittingmeans, a

bearing supported upon the upper end of each of said shaft housings, ahead receiving the upper end of each housing and rotatably supportedupon the adjacent bearing, a plurality of blades supported by andextending radially from each head, the supporting means for each of saidblades being designed to facilitate oscillation of the blade on its longaxis, the blades of one head being disposed to rotate in a plane belowthe plane of rotation of the blades of the other head and said planesbeing perpendicular to the axes of ,the shafts with which the heads areconnected, means for oscillating the said rear one of the housings, andmeans connected with the blades of each head facilitating theoscillation of the blades of the heads selectively as a group for theadjustment of the pitch of such blades.

7. In a helicopter type airship, a fuselage body, a pair of rotor unitssupported by said body for oscillation above the top of the same, saidrotor bodies being spaced longitudinally of the fuselage and eachincluding a rotary head and a plurality of blades extending radiallyfrom each head, said blades being of the airfoil type, the bladesconnected with one head being arranged for rotation in a plane below theplane of rotation of the blades of the other head, the said rotor unitsbeing disposed whereby the planes of rotation of the blades are parallelwith one another and are at an acute angle with respect to'thelongitudinal center of the fuselage, the blades of said units beingmounted for adjustment of the pitch thereof, means for effecting theadjustment of the pitch of the blades of one unit independently of thoseof the other unit, and means for transmitting rotary power to said rotorunits.

8. In a helicopter type airship, a fuselage body, a pair of rotor unitssupported by said body for oscillation above the top of the same, saidrotor bodies being spaced longitudinally of the fuselage and eachincluding a rotary head and a plurality of blades extending radiallyfrom each head, said blades being of the airfoil type, the bladesconnected with one head being arranged for rotation in a plane below theplane of rotation of the blades of the other head, the said rotor unitsbeing disposed whereby the planes of rotation of the blades are parallelwith one another and are at an acute angle with respect to thelongitudinal center of the fuselage, the blades I 2,278,808 stating theadjustment of the pitch of said blades of said units being mounted foradjustment of the pitch thereof, means for effecting the adjustment ofthe pitch of the blades of one unit independently of those of the otherunit, means for transmiting rotary power to said rotor units, and meansfor swinging the rear rotor unit in an arcuate path transversely of thefuselage.

9. In a helicopter type airship, a fuselage body, a pair of upwardlyextending shaft housings carried by the body and spaced apartlongitudinally thereof, said housings being inclined forwardly slightlyfrom the vertical with respect to the longitudinal center of thefuselage. the rear one of said housings being of greater height than theforward one, a head rotatably supported upon the upper end of eachhousing. a tubular shaft extending longitudinally through and rotatablysupported in each housing and operatively coupled at its upper end withthe adiacent head, a plurality of blades carried by and extendingradially from each housing, the plane of the blades of the forwardhousing being parallel with and below the plane of the blades of therear housing and said planes being perpendicular to the axes of theshaft, each of the blades being supported in its head for oscillation onits long axis and each having an eccentric finger at its inner endwithin the adjacent head, a reciprocable rod extending through eachtubular shaft, means coupling the upper end of each rod with'the fingersof the blades in the adjacent head facilitating rocking of said bladeson their axes upon reciprocation of the rod, each of said rods extendingat its lower end out of the lower end of the tubular shaft, an actuatinglever coupled with the lower end of each of said rods, means coupledwith each lever facilitating its actuation from a point remote from therod with which it is coupled, and means facilitating the coupling of apower unit with said shafts by which the shafts may be simultaneouslyrotated.

10. In a helicopter type airship, a fuselage body, a pair of upwardlyextending shaft housings carried by the body and spaced apartlongitudinally thereof, said housings being inclined forwardly slightlyfrom the vertical with respect to the longitudinal center of thefuselage, the rear one of said housings being of greater height than theforward or e, a head rotatably supported upon the upper end of eachhousing, a tubular shaft extending longitudinally through and rotatablysupported in each housing and operatively coupled at its upper end withthe adjacent head, a plurality of blades carried by and extendingradially from each housing, the plane of the blades of the forwardhousing being parallel with and below the plane of the blades of therear housing and said planes being perpendicular to the axes of theshaft, each of the blades being supported in its head for oscillation onits long axis and each having an eccentric flnger at its inner endwithin the adjacent head, a reciprocable rod extending through eachtubular shaft, means coupling the upper end of each rod with the fingersof the blades in the adjacent head facilitating rocking of said bladeson their axes upon reciprocation of the rod, each of said rods extendingat its lower end out of the lower end of the tubular shaft, an actuatinglever coupled with the lower end of each of said rods, means coupledwith each lever facilitating its actuation from a point remote from therod with which it is coupled, means facilitating the coupling of a powerunit for oscillation on an axis extending longitudinally of thefuselage, and means facilitating the rocking of the rear housing on saidaxis whereby the head and blades carried thereby will be moved in anarcuate path extending transversely of the fuselage.

11. In a helicopter type airship, a fuselage body, a pair of upwardlyextending shaft housings carried by the body and spaced apartlongitudinally thereof, said housings being inclined forwardly slightlyfrom the vertical with respect to the longitudinal center of thefuselage, the

rear one of said housings being of greater height than the forward one,a head rotatably supported upon the upper end of each housing, a tubularshaft extending longitudinally through and rotatably supported in eachhousing and operatively coupled at its upper end with the adjacent head,a plurality of blades carried by and extending radially from eachhousing, the plane of the blades of the forward housing beingparallelwith and below the plane of the blades of the rear housing andsaid planes being perpendicular to the axes of the shaft, each of theblades being supported in its head for oscillation on its long axis andeach having an eccentric finger at its inner end within the adjacenthead, a reciprocable rod extending through each tubular shaft, meanscoupling the upper end of each rod with the fingers of the blades in theadiacent head facilitating rocking of said blades on their axes uponreciprocation of the rod, each of said rods extending at its lower endout of the lower end of the tubular shaft, an actuating lever coupledwith the lower end of each of said rods, means coupled with each leverfacilitating its actuation from a point remote from the rod with whichit is coupled, means facilitating the coupling of a power unit with saidshafts by which the shafts may be simultaneously rotated. the said rearhousing being supported at its lower end for oscillation on an axisextending longitudinally of the fuselage, a frame structure enclosingthe upper end of the rear housing and limiting swinging movement of suchend in an arcuate path transversely of the fuselage, a collar looselyencircling the rear housing and supported in said frame for slidingmovement transversely of the fuselage, and mechanism coupled with saidcollar facilitating its reciprocatory movement in said frame from apoint remote therefrom.

12. In a helicopter type airship, a fuselage, a pair of upwardlyextending rotatable shafts carried by and projecting above said fuselageand spaced apart longitudinally thereof, means for applying rotary powerto said shafts, said shafts being inclined from the vertical forwardlywith respect to the longitudinal center of the fuselage and being ofunequal height, a rotor unit mounted upon the upper end of each shaft tobe turned thereby and including a plurality of adjustable pitch blades,and means for effecting the axial turning of the blades, the blades ofthe units being maintained by the unequal heights of the shafts forrotation in vertically spaced parallel planes.

GEORGE R. WALDRON.

